This week I took time off from my job to work on my novel. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, just give myself the time and the space to relax and think about this book that I’ve been trying to write for nearly five years.

I don’t ever take vacations at my job, and when I do take time off it’s usually only a day or two at a time, so I don’t feel guilty about taking a week to myself.

I’m realizing that it’s hard for me to write in short spurts. I wish I could do an hour of novel work every day during my regular work week and be able to chip away at getting it finished in a gradual and steady flow, but it’s not natural for me. I do much better in longer hauls, taking four to five to sometimes seven hours at a time, getting caught up in that fictional world I’m trying to build.

I decided to make a video talking about my novel progress, as a kind of incentive to myself to keep up with this pace, and also just to make a fun little video for my Youtube channel. You can watch it below, and please feel free to subscribe to my channel here so you can get updates on when my new videos go up. I’m going to be posting a series of poetry videos, short readings from my latest book a place a feeling something he said to you, next week, starting Monday, August 17, 2020. Please go subscribe and check those out!

Also, the new Be About It zine is here! It’s the Britney Spears Blackout issue featuring so many great writers, and I finally have it up in my store for sale! It’s a full zine dedicated to the marvelous Miss Britney Spears and her game-changing 2007 album, Blackout, featuring work by Alex Russell, Carrie Hunter, Christoph Paul, Cuhsandra, Erin Taylor, Gwen Schulte, Kamita, Kenneth Bartlett-Preston, Levis Keltner, Leza Cantoral, M; Margo, Meg Hurtado Bloom, Rachelle Toarmino, Sonia Nicklès, Stephanie Maria Athena Valente, and Zoe Contros Kearl. Get yourself a copy for a dollar (plus shipping) here today!

I took this week off from work to write. I've been writing this novel since 2015 or 2016, and it's changed a lot since I've started.